Hyssop - Korean

(Agastache rugosa) Perennial. more robust relative to Anise Hyssop, with similar flavor and overall appearance except that, at four feet tall, it is very much larger. One of the 50 Fundamental Herbs in Chinese traditional medicine, this plant has been studied in recent times for antibacterial properties. Makes a wonderful base for herbal tea blends; makes a definitive statement in the garden!

This is the third year for agastache rugosa in the yard. Started with two plants.
It has seeded all over the yard which works well in this yard because it blends in with the larkspur, iris, allium and other tall plants. I do have to pull it out of places I don't want it, but it pulls easily. Luckily I love it because if I didn't getting rid of it might take a few years. There are at least a hundred plants now from just two. The pollinators love it. It tolerates wind and heat as well.

I love this plant and often pick leaves to just smell it. Makes a good iced tea but probably best by itself in a tea. It has a licorice type flavor and scent. It grew readily from seed and have had no bug problems other than an occasional Japanese beetle. I needed to attract pollinators to my vegetable garden and this really helped bring them in. Bees, moths, butterflies, hummingbird moths, and hummingbirds themselves. It is probably my favorite herb this year.

I decided to try this kind of Hyssop along with Blue Hyssop. Both plants grew very quickly and matured quickly. I grew both indoors in pots and will be transplanting a couple outdoors for the summer time. The Korean Hyssop is about 2 feet tall with very BIG leaves and beautiful violet blue flowers starting to bud. The picture above shows red, but the blue that came through is gorgeous. I started growing both from seed in early March. The blue Hyssop is about 12-13 inches tall currently with no blooms yet, but I am excited to see them! Great seeds, easy to take care of and thriving hardy plants!

Central Texas Grower. Easy to grow. Sowed in a seeding set up in January and planted in the garden in late February. It survived two light frosts. It is now late april and it hasn't bloomed yet but should in the next month. Doesn't mind bad clay soil amended with a little compost. Doesn't like wet feet. Planted some under a grape vine and some outside the veggie garden. Leaves semi heart shaped the size of an eight year old's palm. Pinch off top to make it branch. Light bug damage but it doesn't seem bothered at all by it. Dogs totally uninterested in it.